One half of a Happy Ending
by Secoluna
Summary: Hermione always approaches him. Always.  One shot, post DH.


_This is not the end._

The Love Interest: _"I didn't know what to get you for your birthday…."_

Ginny is not a jealous person. _She's not._

But sometimes, _only_ sometimes when Cho owls or Padma (_or Parvati she could never remember which one_) visits, her brown eyes are trained on Harry. Her husband. _Hers – keep that in mind_. She really can't help it: she knows when it's coming. Her eyebrows knot, her jaw tightens and her fingers brush her wand. Imagine her surprise when she finds herself eyebrow-knotting, jaw tightening, brushing her wand as she stood in front of the Weasley's Burrow.

They have just arrived from another Ministry of Magic function – just another day being Harry Potter's wife, you know. Mum is fussing over them (_"Ron, you don't visit us enough"_ and _"Ginny, did you make sure you put enough butter beer in your roast?"_), when she notices Harry pulling Hermione roughly by the arm. They're at it again. Harry paces in front of an overgrown bush riddled with gnomes as Hermione stands, hands on her hips, teary-eyed. Suddenly, the image of 13 year old Ron and Hermione arguing in the Gryffindor Room flashes in her head.

They're at it again.

It will go like this: Hermione will turn her back and Harry will walk away. They will not talk to each other for a few days. Ron will try to cheer Hermione up and her - well, she has learnt to stay out of it. Harry will act angry for the first day, remorse the second and the third a teary-eyed Hermione will visit, weary to approach him.

Hermione always approaches him. Always.

Even after 20 years.

She tells herself there's nothing to be jealous about – Hermione is her friend. _Loyal_ friend. Remember, Hermione was the one who told you about Harry's last thoughts. (Hermione:_"Ginny, it was your face, he thought of before he died"_). Hermione. Harry _told_ Hermione. Harry didn't tell you. Harry could have told you. Harry should have told you. You're Harry's wife. You have children. You're happy. You love each other. This is your happy ending. This is _Harry's_ happy ending.

You never really get into fights – you're too much alike to disagree. Except that one time (_Harry, Why won't you tell me what happened with You-Know-Who? How did you survive the Killing Curse?_ ). She remembered that Harry disappeared for a day after that fight. She finds out from Ron, Harry is at their place. (Hermione: _" Ginny, you understand why, don't you? He'll tell you when he's ready."_ ) Harry did tell you later. _Much_ later.

There. Is . Nothing. To. Be . Jealous. About.

Nothing.

* * *

The Sidekick:_" I love her like a sister, I thought you knew that…."_

Ron was an insecure person. Keyword: was.

But sometimes, _only_ sometimes when Hermione sends him sleeping on the couch for the fourth (_or is it fifth?_) time this week, he thinks maybe he is just kidding himself.

These fights usually end within a couple days - except that one time ( Hermione: _" Ronald. You can't be jealous about that. Think about it. Harry can't talk to you if he is having problems with your sister. Honestly! He thinks you'll punch him."_) He finds out from Ginny (_not Harry_), that Hermione is at their place - he doesn't want to know if it is Ginny or Harry she is running to. He's afraid of the answer.

So afraid.

As he stares at the shelves of books, he remembers what the _12 ways to charm witches_ told him – in an argument, witches are always right. He snorts - not deluded, emotional ones, obviously. He can't remember what they're fighting about this time – he thinks it's something to do with hiring house elves or he didn't bother owling after a night out with the boys (When he says, boys he means Harry and Neville. He owled George but George didn't turn up).

The spring in the couch, he forgot to fix, prods his left shoulder deeply. He hates these nights. If she's angry at him, why can't _she_ sleep on the couch? The couch is too small for his tall frame - some people can be so thoughtless.

He hates these nights because he remembers. He remembers what happened in his 7th year (_what was suppose to be his 7th year_). He wonder would he have been made Head Boy?

He wraps the blanket around himself tighter; he has never told Hermione what happened the night he came back. The locket. That **stupid** locket. He shifts his weight onto his right shoulder as he tries to forget those ghostly images, forget what they said (_second, always second_) and forget what they did (_truth?_). She stayed behind. She stayed behind _with him_. Forget how the ghosts (_of things left unsaid_) held onto each other, forget that they –

He stares at the picture frame of Hugo and Rose high above the shelves. (Both smiling - both red heads, thanks Merlin). They've learned to compromise. Well, _he's_ learnt to compromise. ( Harry: _" I love her like a sister. I love her like a sister. She feels the same way. I love her like a __**sister"**_)

He keeps staring at Hugo's and Rose's smiling faces until he falls asleep. _Sister. Sister. Sister._ This is how it ends, he thinks. This is how it should end. He doesn't really need a House Elf and he should really have owled Hermione.

But when he is flitting between consciousness and unconsciousness – he remembers how does Harry know? How does an only child tell if he loves someone like a sister?

He remembers those nights being the coldest.

* * *

The Heroine Sidekick:_" For the Greater Good"_

Hermione learns things quickly.

Things from the book that is – she still doesn't understand why no-one has written about love. Love should be easy - with step by step guides. But it isn't and she doesn't know anything about love (_who does, really?_). She hates not knowing something. She dwells on what she knows – what is there, what she can _see_. It gives her comfort.

She's afraid.

She's afraid of the uncertainty and what she does not know. She knows Ron loves her. She doesn't know if her parents are scared of her. She knows the 777 codes of law enforcement. She doesn't know what she (_and Ron_) will do if Harry had died that night. She knows she loves Harry and Ron. She doesn't know how much.

And, she knows something is not right.

It frustrates her.

She tells herself it's better this way. It's safer than the unknown - the uncertainty.

But, she knows it won't end - it'll never end till she finds out what that something is.

* * *

The Hero:_" All is well"_

Harry tells himself he is content. He is.

Lovely friends, lovely wife, lovely children. Lovely family. What he wanted.

But sometimes, _only_ sometimes he feels like he is missing something. He tells Ron and Hermione this – Ron laughs it off, saying it was probably because there wasn't some big evil Dark Lord after his life.

Hermione nods her solemnly.

Something is missing. It's like when a word is at the tip of your tongue but you can't get it out or you've misplace your keys – you know where it is, you've just put it aside for safe keeping.

He is forgetting something.

Or someone.

He thinks, maybe this is not the end.


End file.
